Welcome back, book clubbers! This month, medieval history lovers and theology fans will rejoice with my November pick, Rapture by Emily Maguire. So, park yourself in for a journey through time as we go back, back, back to the 9th century to follow the incredible legend of a young woman who gives up her name and the man she loves to forge her own path of enlightenment.

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Born to an English priest and a pagan mother who died in childbirth, Agnes of Mainz is raised studying the many biblical texts in her home and listening to the consultations between her father, local men and travellers seeking his advice. Given that this was a truly terrible time to be a woman (gosh, how could we ever relate?), Agnes has no desire to be enslaved as a wife with the high chance of dying under horrific circumstances and wishes to dedicate her life to religious study without the restrictions of a convent.

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After her father’s passing, she concocts a wild plan with her only friend and lover Randolf, a Benedictine monk, to disguise herself as a man and join him at the monastery to become a scholar, an opportunity forbidden to her as a woman. Lovestruck, Randolf agrees and Agnes sets in motion her astounding ascent from a humble monk to a revered teacher in Rome, a cardinal and member of the Pope’s inner sanctum and, eventually, the highest position of power in the church.

However, it is hardly smooth sailing for Agnes as she must betray her own heart in abandoning Randolf and endure the constant threat of exposure from jealous peers. This is easier said than done as her rise in position surrounds her in political intrigue and scrutiny from those seeking leverage against her. The best-case scenario of her discovery is excommunication and exile, the worst-case, death.

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But will she risk it all for the one person who truly knows and loves her?

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Emily Maguire has proven herself to be a remarkable writer with her previous titles (both of which are a hard act to follow) and Rapture is a glowing testament to that. She breathes life into an old story with vivid imagination of who Agnes was and her unshakeable devotion to God and mankind. We witness the painful daily rituals she undergoes at the monastery, the pure ecstasy in her intimacy with the man she loves most, the horrific aftermath of both a plague and war in her pilgrimage to Athens and Rome, and the overwhelming decadence of the Vatican while people starve on the street.

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Rapture is both an extraordinary story and soaring tribute to not only Maguire’s talent but what it truly means to follow your beliefs to the end.

 

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